My big breakfast backfired

katysmelly

So, you know how "they" say to eat a sizeable, high-fibre breakfast with protein? I'm not sure, but I don't think it works for me.

This morning, I had a really big breakfast (just over 500 calories) before exercising fairly intensely. I had oatmeal with some walnuts and blueberries and skim milk. Exactly the sort of thing the magazine articles recommend. And, it was a big bowl, too. I came back from my 70-minute hike hungry, but only allowed myself a smallish morning snack because I didn't want to eat up all my daily allowance before 10am! I felt hungry all morning until lunch time.

Yesterday, I had a tangerine, a banana, a slice of whole grain bread, and a small glass of skim milk just before exercising. I felt fine during my exercise and came back reasonably hungry. I then had a second breakfast of two eggs and whole grain dry toast. The two together were significantly less calories (about 200 less) than today's morning intake. And, I wasn't any hungrier until lunch than I was today. Possibly I was less hungry.

I think what it comes down to is: I came back from my workouts about equally hungry. I felt like I had enough energy to exercise and came back with a hearty appetite both times. Only, yesterday I had enough calories left that I could actually feed myself!

I think maybe it makes more sense to me to eat a little less calories - focusing on high-fibre carbs for energy - before morning workouts and then to have a slightly more substantial second breakfast, this time with more protein, for staying power.